Former President Donald Trump still won’t stop saying the 2020 election was “rigged” against him. He said he doesn’t owe his former vice president, Mike Pence, an apology for riling up the crowd that threatened to hang Pence on Jan. 6, 2021. And the day after a jury in New York City found Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation, he was still claiming he had never met victim E. Jean Carroll and has no idea who she is.
The above is a small sampling of the cascade of lies, the bullying behavior and the self-aggrandizing bluster that made CNN’s town hall with Trump in New Hampshire on Wednesday night a grueling, torturous hour. Throughout the evening, moderator Kaitlan Collins tried to give Trump the space to admit his wrongs and show that this, his third presidential campaign, would be different. Instead, it is clearer than ever that Trump regrets nothing — and expects Republican voters to reward him for refusing to admit ever being wrong at any point in his life.
Not that we should be surprised by this turn of events. Since he first won the White House in 2016, Trump has seemingly convinced himself that he could do no wrong — on any front. He sloughed off the numerous investigations into his behavior and let the unwavering adoration of his base buoy him through his most turbulent moments. Similarly, the audience at Wednesday’s town hall — 400 likely GOP primary voters — bolstered him as the night went on, laughing, for example, as he mocked the woman a jury found he sexually abused and as he mocked the woman hosting the town hall.
But since that initial 2016 victory, Trump has suffered a string of defeats that would make most politicians question themselves. And maybe some people believed he was taking a more measured approach this time around, because his 2024 campaign has, at times, appeared to be a little different. He has hammered away at a likely rival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, before he could announce his candidacy, and, in lieu…
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